Greg Zyla: The 1981 to 1983 Chrysler Imperial

Monday

Sep 27, 2010 at 12:01 AMSep 27, 2010 at 9:04 PM

Although long since removed from its marketing efforts, Chrysler’s high-class Imperials were once competitors for American luxury-car dominance, competing with Cadillac and Lincoln for consumer approval.

Greg Zyla/Cars We Remember

Although long since removed from its marketing efforts, Chrysler’s high-class Imperials were once competitors for American luxury-car dominance, competing with Cadillac and Lincoln for consumer approval.

Introduced in 1926 as the top-line Chrysler model, Imperial became a standalone brand from 1955 through 1975. After the early 1970s fuel crisis, Chrysler removed Imperial from its lineup in 1976 as buyer demand for small cars increased.

Through 1980, Chrysler faced major financial woes. To right the ship, the company hired proven talent Lee Iacocca in 1978 as its new CEO, and Iacocca re-introduced a new mid-size Imperial in 1981. Iacocca hoped for similar success as the sibling rear-drive Chrysler Cordoba, which was setting sales marks since its introduction in 1975.

Much of Cordoba’s success came from impressive television commercials featuring late actor Ricardo Montalban, who touted Cordoba's excellent build and "fine Corinthian leather." In full knowledge of Montlalban's success in generating dealer showroom traffic, Iacocca hired good friend Frank Sinatra to sing "Isn't it time for an Imperial?" in TV commercials, while both Iacocca and Sinatra appeared in print advertising.

Imperial’s final rear-drive generation is still admired, as a Lincoln-type front grille merges nicely with a European "bustleback" rear trunk design. The rear deck is similar to the British cars from the 1950s, namely Rolls Royce and Bentley.

Some of the main features Imperial offered included Mark Cross interiors, two-door-only design, a Frank Sinatra Edition, digital instrumentation, fuel injection V8, clearcoat paints and a fully loaded price of just over $18,000 delivered.

However, even with “Old Blue Eyes” endorsing, Imperial debuted to weak 1981 sales of just 9,707. The last two years were worse, with 1982 sales of 1,746 and 1983 attracting just 932 Imperial buyers.

Imperial would again appear as a Chrysler model - 1990 through 1993 - but for true Imperial aficionados, this “new” small Imperial was simply an aging front-drive K-Car platform.

Chrysler still owns Imperial naming rights, as a beautiful concept attracted much show car attention in 2006. Although a long shot, perhaps one day we’ll see another rear-drive Imperial at Chrysler showrooms.